Twenty Thousand Hertz+

The stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds.

Hosted by Sound Designer Dallas Taylor, Twenty Thousand Hertz unlocks the stories, secrets and science behind what you hear.

Whether you’re a professional audio engineer with decades of experience, a fourth grader who loves sound and music, or anyone in between, you’ll find something to love: the sound design secrets of hit movies, the forgotten backstories of classic theme songs, the sonic craft of jingles and device sounds, linguistic mysteries, psychoacoustics, video game music, animal communication, and beyond. With moving human stories, immersive sound design, and non-stop ear candy, Twenty Thousand Hertz has grown into the world’s leading podcast about sound. 

New to the show? Start here:

• I'm Lovin' It: How “Ba da ba ba ba” took over the world

• The Art of Foley: Bringing Slimer & Batman to life

• Tudum! The story behind the iconic Netflix sound

• The Legend of Zelda: A Beep to the Past

• Inside Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Studios

• A sonic journey through the Solar System

• Mind the Gap: NYC & London’s iconic transit voices

Design
Arts
Music Commentary
101
Sonic Happiness: A guide to feeling better thro...
Practical tips for making your world sound better so that you feel better.
42 min
102
MicroHertz: Twenty Thousand Tunes
The composer behind the music of this show.
16 min
103
Shock Horror A: The origin of the dramatic “Du...
Dun dun duuun!
27 min
104
MicroHertz: To the ISS!
20K visits the International Space Station
15 min
105
Sleight of Ear: Behind the scenes w/ Dallas Ta...
Dallas reveals the tricks of the trade.
24 min
106
Breathe: My Unexpected Journey
A story from Dallas’ former life.
32 min
107
Relearning Boléro: How our brains rewrite the ...
Can we really trust our ears?
38 min
108
Ghosts in the Hit Machine: The secrets of music...
Inside the secretive world of ghostwriting and ghost producing.
27 min
109
Why Windows Got Rid of Startup Sounds
The death and rebirth of the Windows startup sound.
31 min
110
Ta-da! The history of Windows’ classic startup...
Start me up.
26 min
111
The Waterphone: Hollywood’s spookiest sound effect
The sound that haunts Hollywood.
24 min
112
Mind the Gap: NYC & London’s iconic transit vo...
Stand clear of the closing doors, please.
32 min
113
Hidden Hitmakers: The unsung heroes behind pop...
Who writes the hits for the pop stars?
33 min
114
Happy Little Episode: The soothing voice of Bob...
How a soft-spoken, poofy-haired painter changed the world, one gentle word at a time.
41 min
115
Pirate Radio: Britain’s AM rebels of the ’60s
How a group of scrappy radio pirates changed the course of music history.
33 min
116
Being Dallas Taylor: Meeting my name twins
What’s in a name?
40 min
117
Sul Sul! Behind the gibberish language of The Sims
The secrets of Simlish, the gibberish language of The Sims.
25 min
118
Guess That Sound 2021: Underunderstood
The hosts of Underunderstood go head to head in our annual Mystery Sound game.
37 min
119
The Static Angel: How HBO perfected its sonic i...
How HBO reconciled its analog past with its digital future.
25 min
120
It’s Not TV: Behind HBO’s legendary sounds
How HBO crafted two of the most iconic pieces of sonic branding in history.
23 min
121
One simple trick scientists say will stop snoring
If you live with a snorer, it can be tricky to roll out of bed after a night of little sleep.
40 min
122
Creature Speakers: The art of voicing monsters
How do you voice over 200 monsters?
26 min
123
How blind gamers are changing the world of vide...
The ins and outs of gaming without sight.
24 min
124
Sports Without Sight: The sound-driven world of...
Keep your ears on the ball.
21 min
125
Sound Cinema: Experiencing film through audio ...
Hearing is believing.
27 min